A lawmaker has proposed that anybody convicted of defiling a child should be castrated using chemicals.

Lamu Woman Representative Ruweida Obbo said sending child defilers to prison to "serve easy terms" was too lenient as the convicts enjoyed food and good shelter.

Obbo said it would be prudent to chemically castrate the culprits to prevent them from repeating the crimes.

The Woman rep, who was speaking in Lamu yesterday, said the rate of child defilement in Lamu was worrying. She was also concerned by the fact that the perpetrators were either not arrested or were handed "very easy sentences".

Hindi division in Lamu West leads in child defilement cases, according to a recent security report.

Most of the offences are committed by relatives and people known to the children.

Cases of fathers, brothers or uncles defiling young girls are on the increase.

Last year, the World Vision reported that at least 10 girls are defiled in Hindi every month.

Obbo said the only sure way to stop child defilement was to introduce extreme punishment that left a permanent mark on the culprits.

“It is tiring to have small girls defiled each day and even worse by their own parents and relatives. Why should such people be sent to jail instead of having them chemically castrated as a warning to others? In jail, they simply get to carry on with their lives, only under a different roof and that’s too lenient,” she said.

Hindi ward rep Anab Hajji said child defilement was the biggest hurdle they have to deal with.

She urged the government to set up a rescue centre for young girls who have suffered gender-based violence and those who at risk.

She said among the leading causes of child defilement in the ward is consumption of illicit brews.

Domestic squabbles have also cited as the reason why fathers defile their children after their wives flee.

“When people get too drunk, they turn into beasts and rape their children. When a mother flees from violence and leaves her young daughters behind, they become their fathers’ sexual slaves. It is so unfortunate. We need a centre here for these girls so they can know there is still hope,” Hajji said.

Parents are often to blame when they opt to resolve defilement at home.